Instances of liver disease rising dramatically – and it’s not because of excessive drinking

Liver disease is on a dramatic upswing throughout the country and it’s not because people are drinking more heavily.

“Prior to 2016, it was 1 in 10 Canadians were diagnosed with liver disease. Now, it’s 1 in 4. It’s now accounting for the increase of Hepatitis C cases actually being diagnosed,” said Bianca Pengelly of the Manitoba Regional Coordinator of the Canadian Liver Foundation.

“It also counts for the non-alcoholic, fatty liver disease, basically obesity rates are just sky rocketing.”

While not drinking or doing drugs does help prevent people from damaging their livers or developing liver disease, it’s not a guarantee, said Pengelly.

“People think they’re not going to have liver disease if they don’t touch a drink of alcohol or do drugs. I never drank or did drugs. I was born with liver disease.”

She said liver disease is a difficult illness to manage.

“I was lucky that I was able to get a liver transplant when I was 18-months-old,” she said. “There are certain limitations. I need to get blood work done pretty often. I was on a lot of medication. Thankfully, not as many today.